Ask anyone who’s been kicking around Lubbock for a few years and you’re sure to hear a story about the time they drank with either Stoney, Cody, Randy, or Wade while one or the other played on the Blue Light stage.  Lately these guys might not come around as often as we’d like to see them but as their careers flourish, a new generation of bands take the stage in hopes of following in their hallowed footsteps.

Estelline is not one of those bands.

Taking the sad country song to a darker place: Estelline

They aren’t trying to be like every Texas country band out there.  They aren’t trying to be like any Texas country band out there.  Founder and frontman Kenny Paul Harris makes no apologies for this, either: there is a depth to Harris’s material that most Texas country bands have yet to find an audience for anyway.  Consider the words of a heartbroken man driven not merely to the honky-tonk on the edge of town but to the abyss at the edge of the world:

I am a monster, lock me away
Was her eyes that drove me insane
Black as hell, cold as ice
When she disappeared it was no surprise

“Old country was all story-based, and that’s what we do,” says Harris.  Estelline takes the sad country song to an even darker place, both lyrically and musically.

Drums, bass, acoustic guitar, banjo, and a twangy guitar sound peppered with just enough delay to echo Harris’s haunting subjects characterize most of the songs they play.  Says drummer Justin Lentz, “we’re going for something honest that people can understand.  I personally don’t want to be that indie band that people don’t get.”

Estelline Founder and Frontman Kenny Paul Harris

Rather than working to mask a vocal timbre that any pop-savvy vocal coach would seek to restrain, Kenny Paul Harris turns this into a defining characteristic of his performance, articulating each line with calculated drawl which sometimes borders on the dysphonic but always delivers with conviction.

“Playing at the Bluelight hasn’t been as tough as one would think,” explains Lentz. “We feel comfortable being the odd band out.  We think that it comes across OK with the crowd.  I’m sure that you’ll find the occasional cowboy who walks in and wonders what the hell we’re doin’ up there, but I think for the most part we’re accepted.”

Connect with Estelline at http://www.myspace.com/estelline1

While the Blue Light Songwriter Showdown is over until the fall, you still have the chance every Monday night to witness great local songwriters.  The list is always full of extremely talented singers waiting to impress the Blue Light crowd.  And for you songwriters:  the crowd hasn’t dwindled since the contest.  You will have a great audience to support you!

Monday nights at the Blue Light is the perfect place to catch up-and-comers at their most raw.  It doesn’t get any more stripped down than just an acoustic guitar and a microphone.  You also get the opportunity to watch some more established artists play sans their bands.  William Clark Green and Charlie Shafter opened the show this week with a song swap, where they played some new material and some from their recent albums.  Second to the stage was Brandon Adams and Russell “Red” Shahan, the hosts of our songwriter night, who always play a fabulous set.  Why these two are not already out selling a million records I will never know, so enjoy them while you can on the small stage.

The rest of the songwriters had a little bit of everything to offer.  We saw some country, coffee shop pop, and acoustic rock among other genres represented.  There is truly something for everyone.  So bring your guitar and your listening ears to Monday nights for the best live music in town!